West Bay Woodturners

Promote woodturning education and woodturning as an art form

Logo of the American Association of Woodturners (AAW). West Bay Woodturners is an official chapter of AAW.
Hand-turned wooden bowls, platters, and spin tops displayed on a table during a West Bay Woodturners monthly meeting in Los Altos, California.

Woodturners Newsletter, October 2026

West Bay Woodturners Newsletter is a monthly update on the club activities. This free resource is available to beginner and professional woodturners.

Next Meeting

Wednesday, October 21, 2026, 7pm

Bridges Community Church
(second floor meeting room)
625 Magdalena Ave
Los Altos, CA 94024

Agenda

  • Introductions of guests and new members
  • Program – Don Bonnett will demonstrate how to turn unique finials
  • Break
  • Reminders and updates
  • Review of “President’s Challenge” items
  • Show & Tell
Finial by Don Bonnett

President’s Challenge

  • An eccentric multi-axis turning – those without a purpose-built eccentric chuck can use the between centers with offsets method
  • A bowl (or other shape) with an off-center hollow – those without a purpose-built offset chuck can use the rotating faceplate technique
Eccentric bowl turned from dark wood
Eccentric bowl by Brad Bond
Maple Burl Bowl by Al Holstein
Maple Burl Bowl by Al Holstein
An offset bowl decorated with a rose engine and embellished with rotary bits by Brad Bond.
Embellished offset bowl by Brad Bond

Upcoming Programs

18 November 2026 – Russell Mohr has impressed us with his wood-and-epoxy creations, which highlight wood character, fill voids and cracks, and introduce color and transparency. See Russell’s work on his website or watch his project videos on YouTube. He will give a presentation showing creation of a piece step by step, along with the molds, tools, and materials he uses, and pre-made samples representing different stages of the process.

President’s Message

The October 2026 issue of the Journal of the American Association of Woodturners contains two timely articles apposite to last month’s general meeting:

  1. “Woodturning and Respiratory Safety” (page 30) reinforces the message delivered by Dean Caudle.
  2. “Subdue the Skew with Spinning Tops”(page 26) is a good read for those who still might want to make tops in support of Kirsten Mouradian’s sickle cell awareness effort.

– Edgar Whipple, President

Last Meeting Review

Wednesday September 16, 2026

Woodturners newsletter notes by Laura Rhodes; pictures by Angela Gunn and Roman Chernikov.

Announcements

Our holiday party will be on December 16 (the third Wednesday as with our normal meetings) with the time shifted to 5pm – 9pm. We need a coordinator! Due to popular demand, Jim Koren has agreed to cook the turkey again this year. There will be a gift exchange (something you have turned) and also an ornament raffle.

  • No guests
  • Timber available:
    • Liquidambar from the back of Jim’s truck. -$5 a piece
    • A few pieces of Shamel ash are still available at the Whipple residence. Edgar recommends Osmo raw matte for a finish for this light colored wood.
    • Jim Koren talked about establishing protocols and guidelines for wood acquisition for the club. He noted that some members are hesitant to participate in a wood haul because they don’t have the equipment to cut the wood to size. Edgar, Jim and Kelly have volunteered to help members with this.
  • Dean Caudle gave a short presentation about respiratory protection. He recommends a P100 mask instead of an N95 because it is effective in oily environments. A powered respirator provides even better protection, especially for those with facial hair.
  • There was a discussion about hands-on demos, perhaps at the Palo Alto adult school. For now, that’s on hold.
  • For our October meeting, Don Bonnett will give a demonstration on making finials. In November, Russell Mohr will be talking about woodturning with epoxy. Our December meeting will be the holiday party.

Spin Tops for pediatric sickle cell anemia patients

Kirsten Mouradian holds a collection of donated wooden spinning tops at a West Bay Woodturners meeting. These tops help pediatric sickle cell anemia patients visualize how medication restores red blood cells to their round shape.

Kirsten Mouradian is collecting turned tops for her pediatric sickle cell anemia patients. They will draw a red crescent representing a diseased cell on the top and then spin it to show how their medication restores the red blood cell to its proper round shape. Many club members have donated tops!

Assorted hand-turned wooden spinning tops in a cardboard box, donated by West Bay Woodturners for pediatric sickle cell anemia patients to demonstrate blood cell recovery.
Wooden spinning top by Kirsten Mouradian with a red crescent design representing a sickle cell. When spun, the decoration appears round, illustrating how medication restores blood cells in pediatric patients.
Spinning top by Kirsten Mouradian
Tiny hand-turned wooden spinning top by Kirsten Mouradian resting on a poplar spinning base. The light-colored wood features visible concentric lathe marks.

Demonstration – Offset Turning – Bud Trapp, Claude Godcharles, Alison Lee, Jon Bishop

Bud Trapp, Edgar Whipple, and Dean Caudle sit behind a table laden with woodturning projects and tools at a West Bay Woodturners meeting in Los Altos, California.
Bud Trapp, Edgar Whipple, and Dean Caudle at September meeting
West Bay Woodturners members sit in a community room at Bridges Church in Los Altos, CA, watching Bud Trapp demonstrate multi-axis turning using the Escoulen School and specialized chucks.
Dean Caudle demonstrates respiratory protection gear during a safety presentation at a West Bay Woodturners meeting, holding a mask with a health warnings slide displayed on a screen behind him.
Dean Caudle presents on respiratory safety
Specialized multi-axis chucks, a turned wooden vessel, and an instructional booklet on a display table demonstrating offset woodturning techniques at a West Bay Woodturners meeting.
A display of Jean-Francois Escoulen's wooden sculptures and an open American Woodturner magazine at a West Bay Woodturners meeting, illustrating multi-axis turning techniques.
Jean-Francois Escoulen’s woodturning display at West Bay Woodturners
Two issues of American Woodturner magazine featuring multi-axis turning lie on a table at a West Bay Woodturners meeting, with a blurred wooden project in the background.
American Woodturner magazines featuring multi-axis turning
Bud Trapp poses with his multi-axis woodturning projects at a West Bay Woodturners meeting. Three light-colored wooden pieces with spiral designs sit on the table in front of him.

In 2009, Bud had the opportunity to take a class with Jean-Francois Escoulen in France. This was before Francois established his formal woodturning school so Bud’s class was with just one other student and held at the Escoulen home. Bud showed several samples of the offset turnings he created in class. In the class, no special chucks were used, just offset mounting points identified on the bases. No finish was applied to the pieces, they were just buffed with wax. Bud also showed a piece that he had purchased from Francois Escoulen. Bud enjoyed the class, but in the intervening years, he has actually done no offset turning.

Due to a favorable exchange rate at the time of the club’s group order from VicMarc, Claude Godcharles was able to purchase an Escoulen offset chuck at an excellent price. He also had an older model of an Escoulen chuck. Although Claude hasn’t had time to fully explore their possibilities, he explained how the parts of the two chucks work.

Alison Lee showed the Joyner Off Center Jig Kit she recently purchased from Niles Bottle Stoppers. She’s been studying Barbara Dill’s book on multi-axis spindle turning but hasn’t yet had a chance to explore the use of the jig. The jig is designed for smaller pieces such as pendants.

As part of the show & tell, Jon Bishop showed how he attached a bowl to a chuck in an offset position using hot glue to secure the work.

President’s Challenge – Turn a Platter

Polished quarter-sawn Coastal Live Oak platter by Kevin Lee with intricate swirling grain, displayed at a West Bay Woodturners meeting in Los Altos, CA.

Kevin Lee made a platter from quarter-sawn coastal Live Oak that he obtained from Claude.

Bob Bley's hand-turned Bastogne walnut platter featuring rich, swirling grain and a glossy finish, displayed on a white table at a West Bay Woodturners meeting.

Bob Bley made a Bastogne walnut platter with wood from Mike Mahoney. It was finished with either Osmo or Tried & True.

A striped zebrawood oval tray turned by Al Sills, displayed alongside other woodturning projects during the West Bay Woodturners Show & Tell.

Jon Sauer showed an oval zebra wood tray that was made by Al Sills (he had traded a box for it). The tray had flat sides. It had originally been turned with sacrificial side pieces that were removed in the final piece.

A Shamel Ash woodturning platter by Daniel Saal with swirling light grain, displayed on a white speckled countertop at a West Bay Woodturners meeting.

Daniel Saal turned a platter from a crotch section of shamel ash. He finished it with Tried & True. Since it was turned wet, the platter warped slightly. Daniel plans to level off the base on the sander so that it’ll sit flat on the table.

Shallow bowls by Alison Lee were displayed on a dark wooden platter, showcasing intricate grain patterns and concentric rings at a West Bay Woodturners meeting.

Alison Lee showed some small dishes from Redwood cutoffs. She also made a square bowl/platter.

Dean Caudle made a square plate.

Golden-brown square woodturning plate with a grain texture by Kelly Smith. It sits on a white, speckled table at a West Bay Woodturners meeting.

Kelly Smith also made a square plate, this one of cypress.

Show & Tell

Seven hand-turned wooden vessels by Edgar Whipple, including four crafted from English walnut, were displayed at a West Bay Woodturners monthly meeting.

Seven vessels by Edgar Whipple, including four in English walnut (on the right).

Hand-turned segmented vessel by Gordon Peterson featuring soapstone and turquoise inlays, displayed on a table at a West Bay Woodturners meeting in Los Altos, California.

Gordon Peterson made a segmented vessel with soapstone inlays.

Four glossy nesting broadleaf maple bowls by Kelly Smith, displayed on a table at a West Bay Woodturners meeting in Los Altos, California.

Kelly Smith made a 4-bowl broadleaf maple set. Three of the bowls came from a single piece that he cored with help from Dan Boehmke. The smallest bowl came from the same tree. All were finished with General Finishes Bowl finish. Kelly also showed mushrooms made with his two piece method. He showed a Maple shallow bowl, several tops, a thimble made from a tagua nut and a melted snowman.

Two turned wooden mushrooms made from juniper and apple wood by Kelly Smith, featuring glossy caps and natural bark textures, were displayed at a West Bay Woodturners meeting.
A shallow maple bowl crafted by Kelly Smith holds three colorful wooden spinning tops on a display table at a West Bay Woodturning meeting.
Melting Snowman woodturning sculpture by Kelly Smith, featuring a black top hat, small brown nose, and blue swirled base on a speckled white table.
Hand-turned wooden spinning tops by Kelly Smith, featuring various carved designs, displayed on a table at a West Bay Woodturners meeting in Los Altos, California.
Hand-turned wooden spinning tops by Kelly Smith

Bob Bley showed a big Redwood bowl with the turquoise rim, finished with wipe-on Poly. He also made a Sycamore bowl with a fractal carved epoxy filled rim. He noted he had to do several fills of epoxy because it really sank in. Bob also showed a Buckeye burl hollow form. The base was very punky so he had to firm up the Tenon with epoxy. The piece was finished it with wipe-on Poly and even with no dye it’s vibrantly colored

Large polished Redwood bowl with a turquoise rim by Bob Bley, displayed alongside other woodturning projects at a West Bay Woodturners Show & Tell event.
Redwood bowl with turquoise rim by Bob Bley
Polished Redwood bowl by Bob Bley featuring a bright turquoise resin inlay along the wide rim, displayed on a white speckled surface.
A polished, two-toned cedar bowl turned by Al Holstein, featuring a light rim and dark reddish interior, displayed at a West Bay Woodturning club meeting.

Al Holstein made a bowl from a cedar tree from Kansas with sentimental value.

Hand-turned walnut bowl by Daniel Saal featuring natural cracks and rich grain, displayed on a speckled white countertop at a West Bay Woodturners meeting.

Daniel Saal turned a walnut bowl

Jon Bishop made two small off-center bowls. He showed how he made them using a chuck with the offset held with hot glue

Polished olive burl vase by Kevin Lee featuring natural knots and irregular voids, displayed on a white speckled table at a West Bay Woodturners meeting.

Kevin Lee was inspired by Nate Segraves’ olive vase that was very “holey”. Kevin made his own olive burl vase with voids.

Angela Gunn's woodturned nativity scene, featuring hand-turned figures from various woods, including sheep and a manger, was displayed at the West Bay Woodturners' monthly meeting in Los Altos, CA.

Angela Gunn created a nativity set for her mother made with all different kinds of woods -the wise men were all created from expensive woods, the shepherd from firewood, Joseph from a piece of oak from Edgar. She used a cup burr bit in a rotary tool to create the sheep’s fleece.

Participation Prizes

Four raw woodturning blanks, including light timber blocks, a gnarled root burl, and a small black block, are displayed as participation prizes at a West Bay Woodturners meeting.
Woodturning blanks at the West Bay Woodturners meeting
Woodturning chisels and a dark burl serving as participation prizes in a box labeled FREE at a West Bay Woodturners meeting in Los Altos, California.
Participation prizes at a West Bay Woodturners meeting featuring raw wood blanks of various species, cork bottle stoppers, and a tray of cookies.

Woodturning Book Library

A large library of woodturning, woodworking, and carving books is available to WBW members as part of our partnership with the Santa Clara Valley Carvers. Browse the online catalog, reserve a book or two, and pick them up at our next meeting. Some books feature galleries for inspiration, and some describe hands-on turning techniques.

Logo of Santa Clara Valley Wood Carving club: a woodpecker on a tree.

Woodturners Newsletter Editing Notes

WBW members, please let the newsletter editors know if you have a personal website, and would like it included in the President’s Challenge and Show & Tell sections of our Woodturning Newsletter. Email us at info@westbaywoodturners.com.

Board Members and Committee Chairs

President: Edgar Whipple
Vice President: Jon Bishop
Treasurer: Jim Koren
Secretary: Alison Lee
Member at Large: Bob Bley
Meeting Program Coordinator: Unfilled
Visiting Artist Coordinator: Dean Caudle (acting)
Anchor Seal: Dennis Lillis
Craft Supplies: Tina
Librarian: Kelly Smith and Roman Chernikov
Audio Visual: Curtis Vose
Website: Roman Chernikov
Woodturners Newsletter: Angela, Edgar, David, Laura, and Roman

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